By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, JAN. 17, 2014) — THE PLANET has additional information on the dual fatality in the car that crashed into Pittsfield High School. Two Pittsfield men, Ernest Duck Jr., 37, and Tariq Salley, 34, died in the crash. Police say they believe Duck to be the driver. The Boring Broadsheet reported that court records show Duck was on probation for driving without a license.

Here’s what the BB doesn’t have. Our sources say:

* A preliminary investigation has the rented 2013 Nissan Altima doing between 80 and 100 mph when it drove south through the Second Street-East Street intersecction before going airborne and slamming into the concrete wall base of the high school.

* The crash ripped the car into pieces. Sources say the police found $100 bills strewn throughout the wreckage.

According to a criminal justice source speaking on condition of anonymity, the men were barreling down Second Street  because they thought they were were being tailed by a vehicle driven by undercover cops. Apparently, the driver panicked and lost control of the speeding car. Capt. John Mullin told BB scribe Nathan Mayberg “there was no evidence that the vehicle was being chased at the time of the crash.”

Notice the careful wording of the statement. It does not rule out that the vehicle was being chased. It merely says there’s “no evidence” of it.

Let’s add this up:

* Two men from Pittsfield in a

* Rented car

* $100 bills

* Driving 80 to 100 mph through one of the busiest intersections in the city

* A police tail

Looks like a drug deal, doesn’t it?

These findings are not official and could change before the investigation concludes.

THE PLANET has also learned that there’s a petition circulating in the high school calling for a fence to be erected around the perimeter of the school. This foolish overreaction points out the folly of acting on emotions and not on reason and logic. We’ll let you think it through, although we will offer this much: If the city wants to prevent incidents like this, perhaps it might want to take a better look at the caliber of individuals it is bringing into town and the trade that comes with them.

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FIRST COUNCIL MEETING: FIRST REVIEWS ARE IN

So how did the “new and improved” city council fare in its first regular meeting with new members, new seating arrangements, and a new chair? THE PLANET talked to several sources who were there and got a gander at some of the meeting on tape.

We present a summary report from our sources:

* The meeting went 2.5 hours with a fairly light agenda.

* Twice President Melissa Mazzeo called councilor Kathy Amuso “councilor Mazzeo.”

* Councilor Tony Simonelli called councilor [Lisa] Tully “councilor Tuttle.”  Councilor Chris Connell called president Mazzeo “madam clerk” twice. Hmmm, was Connell Freudian slip showing. He is, after all, council veep.

* Tully never spoke except to vote. One source said “the look on her face was that of a deer in the headlights.”

* There were at least three  points of order made by councilor a other than the vice president.  There were five “points of order” in total. For those who don’t know, when a member of a formal meeting calls a “point of order,” that member os questioning whether correct procedure is being followed. The city council meets under Demeter’s rules, not Roberts.

* The president allowed councilor Amuso to amend her petition before there was a motion to approve what was on the agenda, which is not allowed.  Councilors are required to take any agenda item as presented before amending it.

* Councilor Kevin Morandi tried to make a point regarding names submitted in consideration for the ordinance review committee. Morandi said asking councilor Jonathan Lothrop to submit names to the president after the meeting (and before the next meeting) would delay the process of choosing names.  Councilors John Krol, Barry Clairmont, and J-Lo tried to explain to him that as long as the president brought only three names back to the next meeting, it wouldn’t cause a delay. Morandi kept saying it somehow would delay the process. He did not offer an explanation.

* Mazzeo “really did try to do a good job,” according to one of our spies in the peanut gallery.  “She was nervous, and you could see it.  She muttered under her breath to herself a few times.  You could tell she was trying to keep track of where she was and what was next.  She had to ask the clerk for help I believe three times.”  Example: “Is this a role call vote? and “Do we need a super majority on this item?”

* One source said the biggest mistake made at the meeting was when the council president put the seven names for the ordinance review committee on the agenda, before the council could vet the names. [EDITOR’S NOTE: THE PLANET tracked down the political connections of these seven folks. See below.]

* Our city hall spies tell us the new council president “held court on Monday at city hall and was there all day preparing.  Connell was there with her all day.  Morandi and Simonelli stopped in for periods of time.” THE PLANET admires this diligence in preparation. We expect Mazzeo will quickly get more comfortable in the role, and, based on this one meeting, it appears likely she will work hard to improve.

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 CLAUSTROPHOBIC DEGREES OF SEPARATION

It came as a surprise to streetwise observers that Melissa Mazzeo, in her new role as council president, would like the names of seven people as prospective members of the ordinance review committee. Appointment to the committee — which almost all right-minded, sane, “normal” people would rank akin to getting one’s eyes repeatedly poked by Moe Howard — isn’t viewed that way by political types, players and wannabes included. They see great value in the face time, “being seen,” and being perceived of as “a player.” THE PLANET reminds the Magnificent Seven that a title and peerage are not at stake but a bone-dry seat on a legalistic panel serving in outer Podunk.

Mazzeo named Jody Phillips, Victoria Kane, Pam Green, Franz Forester, Dave Murphy, Bob Cornwell (submitted by Chris Connell), and Matt Kerwood (submitted by Kathy Amuso).

Pittsfield being Emperor in the Land of Political Incest, you know these names weren’t submitted as blokes from the hayfields or the mean streets. They have a certain amount of “3P” — “Pittsfield Political Pedigree” … such as it is.

— Phillips is former city clerk. She worked on Mazzeo’s campaign for at-large in the last election. Mazzeo worked on Phillips’ campaign when she ran for register of deeds.

— Kane was a member of the charter review commission.

— Green is a former assistant city solicitor. Mayor Dan Bianchi appointed her to the PEDA board. Green’s husband, too, is a Bianchi appointee. He serves on the board of health.

— Franz y’all know about. If not, look under “P” for “Pummelin’ Pam.” Otherwise, check out THE PLANET archives from Wednesday of this week.

— Murphy ran against John Krol in 2009. Need we say more about his bona fides??

— Cornwall formerly worked in the community development office.

— Kerwood, well, y’all know about him, too.

Inbreeding provides the comforting illusion that one’s progeny will live for the ages. The truth is, however, that it produces lots of genetic mutations and none for the better.

The ordinance review committee will review the new city charter against existing city code. It will have five members. Two have been named: city clerk Linda Tyer and councilor-at-large Barry Clairmont. Tyer serves as a requirement of the law. Clairmont serves because the previous council approved him at its final meeting of all time.

Bombo The Great, THE PLANET’s official prognosticator, says it will be Phillips, Franz, and Green.

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“One can see what will trouble / This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. / Were he not gone, / The woodchuck could say whether it’s like his/ Long sleep, as I describe it coming on, / Or just some human sleep.” — Robert Frost, final lines, “After Apple Picking,” (1914).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.